러시아 언어와 문화에서 свобода와 воля의 개념

Concept свобода and воля in Russian language and culture

The concept of freedom is a common value found in most cultures, and there are numerous words for expressing the concept. For example, English words freedom and liberty , and a French word liberté , and Russian words свобода and воля all express the concept of freedom . Although the concept of freedom that these words express cannot be seen as unrelated concepts, there are countlessly many contexts that cannot be used through their translations. The reason is because these words contain the unique historical and cultural experience of their own languages/cultures along with the common value of humanity, as well as reflect the picture of the world in respective society. Accordingly, the semantics of the cultural key words such as свобода and воля can be more accurately analyzed and understood when approached from the point of contact between linguistics and culturology rather than simply analyzing the meaning from the vocabulary, sentence or discourse level. This study will examine the difference between the concept of freedom revealed in свобода and воля and the concept of freedom expressed by other corresponding words in historical and cultural contexts, as well as examine the difference or similarity in the meaning of the two words. This study will especially focus on the fact that the unique characteristics of свобода and воля are not in the uniqueness of their concept of freedom but in the process of continuous interaction and inter-infiltration of the two words. Such discussion will show that the Russian words свобода and воля express the unique Russian concept of freedom as they become close at times and drastically distant at other times while advancing in the aspect of emphasizing their somewhat different meanings in the midst of Russia s long and rich history.